Last week, I was implementing running into my daily exercise routine to see if it would affect my sleeping pattern. There were no obvious results, so in addition to running, I added a 10 min Youtube yoga video to end my evening. And for the past week and a half, before I jump into bed, I do a little yoga workout. This addition has been great for several reasons because it is short and sweet and provides me with a chance to settle my mind and let go of the busy day! I find practicing yoga before bed encourages me to turn my phone off and other distractions to prepare for a good night’s sleep. The time it takes me to fall asleep has been shortened because of my calm and meditative state. As well my muscles and joints feel more relaxed and I go to bed feeling less sore than I usually do from running and weightlifting. I got so excited that I began to do some research on why yoga helps people sleep. My findings were unanimous in that yoga has many benefits for improving sleep quality. Some of those benefits include creating a stress-free and relaxing state of mind before bed, improves breathing, eases joint and muscle pain, decreases depression and anxiety. Some of those benefits I was noticing in just a week! I then found a variety of poses that are best to do before bed. Some of those poses include putting your legs up the wall, happy baby pose and wide-knee child’s pose. I have also heard from a friend that doing a Yin Yoga class before bed could also be very beneficial. So far adding yoga to my night routine has proven to be the most successful in improving my quality of sleep and has found a permanent position in my nightly routine!
